August 22, 2000
Identity Crisis
Well. It's been quite a day. So I've been fighting with Netscape vs. Internet Explorer vs. lesser known browsers like Opera, right? Liz IMed me today and had a suggestion for how to fix it on the Changeling site. Great! Then I realize I don't have Netscape at work, so I wouldn't be able to see if it worked. No problem. I can download and install it. Famous last words.
So I do. The installation program asks if you want Netscape to be your default everything-but-an-electronic-can-opener. Since Netscape and I are having an uneasy truce, I tell it "No." I also tell it I don't want shortcuts for Netscape all over my computer. I'm perfectly capable of finding it when I want to use it. So I install it. First thing I see are shortcuts. All over the place. Shortcuts on my desktop for Navigator, AOL Instant Messenger, the email program, Publisher -- my desktop turned into a billboard! Then there's a bunch on the little shortcut bar next to the Start button. So I delete them all, muttering "Why'd you ask me if I wanted 'em if you were just gonna put 'em there anyway?"
So I open it up. Unfortunately, Liz's coding trick didn't work, so I'm back to square one with that topic. So I go back to work. I try to email a rep. What? What's this? Netscape tells me I have to set an email identity with them. Screw that. It changed my defaults. I'll change it back. So I do. Still, Netscape insists that I need an identity. 11:00 am, and I'm already having an identity crisis! Finally I break down and uninstall Navigator, and go back and do what I should have done to begin with: just download the standalone browser. I was half-afraid to install it though.
That kind of shit right there is exactly why I'm starting to like Opera more and more. Unlike the Blunder Twins, Opera isn't trying to tap into the wealth of Internet users who aren't precisely experienced computer users. (Translation: Opera doesn't assume you're an idiot.)
But anyway. I finally installed Netscape (with little problem this time) because Liz had found another idea for a solution. It worked! The Changeling test site looks approximately the same in Netscape or IE. Also, those of you that use Netscape might also notice that you can now actually read the quotes on the sidebar. That was also with Liz's help. I had some rather careless CSS going on. Thanks again, Liz!
Now I feel compelled to bring you a small moment of tranquility. God knows I need one today:
